How we can protect the protectors: learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations
BackgroundPolice officers and staff who work in child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) investigations are routinely exposed to traumatic materials and situations. Despite support services, working in this space can have negative impacts on wellbeing. This paper explores the experiences and perce...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1152446/full |
| _version_ | 1797829946427572224 |
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| author | Theresa Redmond Paul Conway Simon Bailey Peter Lee Samantha Lundrigan |
| author_facet | Theresa Redmond Paul Conway Simon Bailey Peter Lee Samantha Lundrigan |
| author_sort | Theresa Redmond |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundPolice officers and staff who work in child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) investigations are routinely exposed to traumatic materials and situations. Despite support services, working in this space can have negative impacts on wellbeing. This paper explores the experiences and perceptions held by police officers and staff involved in CSAE investigations in the United Kingdom, regarding work-related wellbeing support and barriers to accessing such support.MethodA sample of 661 serving police officers and staff working in CSAE investigations participated in a United Kingdom-wide ‘Protecting the Protectors’ survey. We analysed quantitative and qualitative responses relating to participants’ experiences and perceptions regarding three main areas: (1) availability, usage and helpfulness of existing work-based well-being support; (2) barriers to accessing support; and (3) desired support services.FindingsFive interconnected themes emerged from the qualitative data that represented participants’ experiences and views of work-based wellbeing support and the barriers to accessing it. These were ‘Lack of trust’, ‘Stigma’, ‘Organisational approaches to wellbeing’, ‘Support services’, and ‘Internalised barriers’. The findings suggest that whilst respondents were aware of work-based support, they indicated most frequently that they ‘never or almost never’ used them. Respondents also identified barriers to accessing support, which related to a perception of a critical or judgmental workplace culture and indicating a lack of trust in their organisations.ConclusionStigma regarding mental ill health has a pervasive and harmful impact on emotional health and wellbeing of police officers and staff involved in CSAE investigations, which creates a sense of lack of emotional safety. Therefore, eliminating stigma and creating a workplace culture that explicitly values and prioritises the emotional health and wellbeing of the workforce would improve the wellbeing of officers and staff. Police organisations could further improve CSAE teams’ wellbeing by developing a continuum of care which is available to workers from recruitment to the end of the role, training managers and supervisors to better support CSAE teams, improving workplace practices, and ensuring high quality, specialist support services are readily and consistently available across forces. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T13:29:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2aceeb0166e84c2283cdcfb393fc254e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T13:29:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-2aceeb0166e84c2283cdcfb393fc254e2023-05-10T05:11:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-05-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.11524461152446How we can protect the protectors: learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigationsTheresa Redmond0Paul Conway1Simon Bailey2Peter Lee3Samantha Lundrigan4The Policing Institute for the Eastern Region, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomThe Policing Institute for the Eastern Region, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, United KingdomFaculty of Creative and Cultural Industries, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United KingdomThe Policing Institute for the Eastern Region, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, United KingdomBackgroundPolice officers and staff who work in child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) investigations are routinely exposed to traumatic materials and situations. Despite support services, working in this space can have negative impacts on wellbeing. This paper explores the experiences and perceptions held by police officers and staff involved in CSAE investigations in the United Kingdom, regarding work-related wellbeing support and barriers to accessing such support.MethodA sample of 661 serving police officers and staff working in CSAE investigations participated in a United Kingdom-wide ‘Protecting the Protectors’ survey. We analysed quantitative and qualitative responses relating to participants’ experiences and perceptions regarding three main areas: (1) availability, usage and helpfulness of existing work-based well-being support; (2) barriers to accessing support; and (3) desired support services.FindingsFive interconnected themes emerged from the qualitative data that represented participants’ experiences and views of work-based wellbeing support and the barriers to accessing it. These were ‘Lack of trust’, ‘Stigma’, ‘Organisational approaches to wellbeing’, ‘Support services’, and ‘Internalised barriers’. The findings suggest that whilst respondents were aware of work-based support, they indicated most frequently that they ‘never or almost never’ used them. Respondents also identified barriers to accessing support, which related to a perception of a critical or judgmental workplace culture and indicating a lack of trust in their organisations.ConclusionStigma regarding mental ill health has a pervasive and harmful impact on emotional health and wellbeing of police officers and staff involved in CSAE investigations, which creates a sense of lack of emotional safety. Therefore, eliminating stigma and creating a workplace culture that explicitly values and prioritises the emotional health and wellbeing of the workforce would improve the wellbeing of officers and staff. Police organisations could further improve CSAE teams’ wellbeing by developing a continuum of care which is available to workers from recruitment to the end of the role, training managers and supervisors to better support CSAE teams, improving workplace practices, and ensuring high quality, specialist support services are readily and consistently available across forces.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1152446/fullchild sexual abuse and exploitationmental health and wellbeingpolice officers and staffbarriers to supportstigmaworkplace and police culture |
| spellingShingle | Theresa Redmond Paul Conway Simon Bailey Peter Lee Samantha Lundrigan How we can protect the protectors: learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations Frontiers in Psychology child sexual abuse and exploitation mental health and wellbeing police officers and staff barriers to support stigma workplace and police culture |
| title | How we can protect the protectors: learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations |
| title_full | How we can protect the protectors: learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations |
| title_fullStr | How we can protect the protectors: learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations |
| title_full_unstemmed | How we can protect the protectors: learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations |
| title_short | How we can protect the protectors: learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations |
| title_sort | how we can protect the protectors learning from police officers and staff involved in child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations |
| topic | child sexual abuse and exploitation mental health and wellbeing police officers and staff barriers to support stigma workplace and police culture |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1152446/full |
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